Older citizens hardest hit by recession

Published 6:00 pm, Thursday, January 8, 2009

It quickly is becoming evident that when recession hits, older Americans are hit hard and many are forced to make hard choices in almost all areas of their lives.

The AARP, an influential advocacy group for people over 50, recently released a survey which says many older Americans are being forced to cut back on contributions to retirement accounts and extras, such as entertainment and restaurant meals.

Of course, AARP has a stake in how older persons fare during upturns as well as downturns. The 40-million member group owns a powerful presence in Washington and is working hard to ensure the stimulus package being developed by President-elect Barack Obama includes help for the unemployed and aid to cash-strapped states for health care.

The group also seeks help for homeowners facing bankruptcy, money for job training in health care professions and aid for doctors and hospitals to upgrade health information sharing technology.

AARP long has worked to overhaul the U.S. health care system, seeking reform which controls costs and improves care. Obama has made overhauling U.S. health care a priority and we are sure he will get plenty of advice from AARP.

AARP's survey said many Americans aged 45 and older had suffered savings and investment losses, and are having trouble paying for essentials such as food, gas and medicine. The survey also said many are being forced to postpone retirement.

More than half of those surveyed said they worried about paying for health care and about a third expressed concern about paying the mortgage or rent. Nearly 60 percent said they suffered investment losses last year. About 57 percent of those aged 45-54 and about 63 percent of those aged 55-64 said they expected to work longer because of financial losses. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed stopped putting money into a 401K or other retirement saving account while 17 percent prematurely withdrew retirement funds.

These are people who were on track to retire as self-sufficient. It seems a shame these productive members of society now face a future that includes worry on how to make ends meet and a future of more working years.

Even the best laid plans of responsible Americans have backfired under the current tide of recession. These are also the people who don't have time to make up the losses and stand to have empty pockets when they were expecting to reap the harvest.